The Center's Emerging Issues Group, which includes staff and faculty from many fields, meets weekly to discuss the ethical issues behind the news. In the weeks leading up to the Obama inauguration, we will explore the five ethical issues identified by the group as the top challenges facing the new administration. Each week, a brief summary and 15-minute podcast of our discussion will be available.
We hope the following five items are on Obama's agenda as he takes office in January:
Who will the Obama administration bring into federal service? What virtues will they be looking for and what ethical considerations will guide their selection?
The Obama administration has prepared an unprecedentedly rigorous questionnaire for all potential executive appointees, with seven pages and 63 queries touching on everything from arrest records to gifts. Does this process represent a further erosion of privacy or a higher standard of public service? What does this approach signify about the new administration’s views on such issues as conflicts of interest, the ties between government and lobbyists, and the relative importance of honesty, prudence, and loyalty in executive hires?
What tools will the new administration use to prosecute the war on terror, and what balance will they strike between security and human/civil rights?
Obama has already declared, “I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm going to make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.” How will Obama deal with the legacy of the Bush administration in this regard? How will he define torture?
What principles should guide the financial bailout? On what basis will the new administration decide if a particular firm or industry should receive help from taxpayers?
Early on in the financial crisis, the federal government declined to bail out Lehmann Brothers but did come to the aid of Bear Stearns. Several of the largest nationl banks received assistance with capital infusons, but there was no federal money for individual mortgage holders. Now automakers are asking for assistance. In order for Americans to believe that their taxes are being appropriated fairly, the new administration must outline the principles that will guide its dispersion of bailout funds.
What is the responsibility of the United States to other countries? Should we focus on spreading democracy or combating human misery?
During the campaign, Obama talked about a foreign policy that would focus on “dignity promotion” rather than simply “democracy promotion.” His foreign policy advisors proposed that meeting basic needs is not only the compassionate thing to do, but also a means of “draining the swamp” of misery that feeds terrorism and prevents democracy from taking root. To some, dignity promotion is a dangerously nebulous concept that may embroil us further in hopeless foreign adventures. To others, it represents a brave rethinking of foreign policy priorities. What approach best serves the common good?
What does Obama see as the proper scope of presidential power?
The Bush administration advanced a theory of “the unitary executive,” arguing, among other propositions, that the president has authority to act unilaterally in war; strip regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, of their independence; and, when signing legislation, to issue “signing statements” that materially change the effect of the laws Congress has passed. Will Obama take up this theory or does he have a different view of the balance of power?
